By Jill Sperling

Kamloops’ air quality reaches dangerous new level

Aug 3, 2017 | 5:13 PM

KAMLOOPS — The air quality in Kamloops is currently among the worst on record.  UPDATE — Friday morning, the index sat at 8, expected to reach at least 10 before the day is out. 

EARLIER — As of 3 p.m., Thursday, the Air Quality Health Index in Kamloops reached 49, on a scale that runs from zero to 10-plus. 

While many parts of the Southern Interior and the coast are also seeing poor air quality levels, the situation in Kamloops is currently the worst anywhere in the province. 

The Ministry of Environment considers Kamloops’ air quality a very high health risk, not just for people with respiratory conditions, but for everyone. 

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“I don’t think there’s any question, the values we’ve seen (today) are among the highest we’ve ever recorded in Kamloops,” BC Ministry of Environment Air Quality Meteorologist Ralph Adams said.

Adams says most of the smoke in Kamloops is blowing in from the 93,000 hectare Elephant Hill fire burning near Clinton, adding the shifting winds have also brought in smoke from fires in the Cariboo. 

“The hourly average at the downtown station reached 790 micrograms per cubic metre (by 1 p.m.),” Adams said. “Previously in Kamloops … the highest levels we reached were during 2003, during the Strawberry Hill fire, and that was around 300.” 

The rating has Kamloops residents considering their health, and the Ministry of Environment is recommending that people with preexisting medical conditions avoid strenuous outdoor activities. 

Even those who are healthy should reduce how much they work or play outdoors.

“If you are doing something and you notice symptoms such as shortness of breath, or pain of some sort then stop doing it,” Adams said. “We have to listen to what our bodies are telling us under these sorts of conditions, even healthy people.”